Healer's Choice

by Jory Strong

  Ultimately he’d have to do something about Gregor, but not now. Not now.

  Radek stirred the super-virus into the bucket of feed. With no evidence of dead elk, wolves, or hyenas, he’d split the encampment’s herd of meat goats, taken those he intended to use as a weapon against the Weres, and had them placed in a separate, enclosed building.

  Gregor had become necessary, at least for the moment. Someone needed to take care of the goats. They were rank creatures and he certainly couldn’t be expected to muck out their paddock area or see to their water and all their feeding requirements. Someone needed to guard them so they didn’t end up in the human food supply.

  A shudder went through Radek as he slipped the empty liquor flask he’d smuggled the virus into the building with into his pants pocket. Sudden sweat made his shirt cling to his sides. According to the documentation he’d found with the canisters, of the three super-viruses, this one was the most volatile, the most likely to mutate. It was a trade-off the scientists accepted, greater risk offset with the benefit of being able to kill a wide range of Weres having a cat form.

  Cats were survivors. They were consummate predators. According to the data chip accompanying the canister, of all the Were groups, the scientists considered jaguar, leopard, and cougar shapeshifters the most likely to be able to survive prolonged human warfare on this continent and rise to power.

  Radek picked up the bucket of feed. He’d already made a show of taking measurements of the goats when he arrived earlier, then of pouring in some of the fictional growth formula kept in a bottle near the feed.

  The make-believe recipe supposedly came from the safe uncovered by the workers. His stated desire to test it served well enough as an excuse for taking charge of the goats and having Gregor assigned to them.

  Radek turned around and took the several steps required to reach the paddock fence. The goats crowded forward, already anticipating the feast his presence had come to represent. He lifted the bucket and poured its contents into troughs made from metal barrels.

  Three more days, he thought, holding his breath to keep from inhaling the acrid stink of goat piss as the herd consumed his offerings. In three more days they’d all be ripe, virulent, and ready to be struck down like piñatas at a party.

  Releasing them wouldn’t be a problem. He’d make up some excuse, perhaps something along the lines of them needing to graze naturally as part of their accelerated growth regime. And while the herd was out of sight of the encampment, they’d escape.

  The last of the feed disappeared, leaving the metal barrels licked clean. Radek looked up and saw Gregor, eyes narrowed and hard, his hand rubbing the bulge at the front of his pants in a not-so-subtle reminder he hadn’t yet been paid for disposing of the whore.

  Radek suppressed a smile. Yes, he could easily see how the animals would manage to escape, how the story would be spun—of noble Gregor growing concerned and leaving them unattended while he searched for the prostitute who’d gotten lost after accompanying him in his capacity as goat herder.

  She’d stay lost of course. Gregor would make sure her corpse wasn’t found.

  It was a simple plan. Effective and efficient. More important, it felt right.

  He’d give it more thought before setting it into motion, but there was no reason not to whet Gregor’s appetite, to prime the pump, so to speak.

  “Three more days of waiting should do it,” Radek said. “Considering the long hours you’ve been putting in and the degrading nature of the work for an Ivanov militiaman, I don’t think anyone would question your need of a whore and a break from the confines of the encampment. As a caveat, I do reserve the right to veto your choice of female companion. Their contracts vary in terms of their worth.”

  Gregor’s hand curled around his cloth-covered cock. He wet his lips in anticipation. “Three days sounds good. It’s been too long since I had the kind of fun I like.”

  Twenty-two

  REBEKKA woke lying in twisted bedding and covered in a light sheen of sweat, her hand in her panties, fingers wet against her stiffened clit. She looked around, disoriented by the fevered intensity of carnal dreams, half expecting to find Aryck in the cabin, directly responsible for the wicked images and decadent sensations.

  She found only quiet emptiness and realization. A validation of her fears from the evening before.

  Aryck wasn’t going to seek her out. Not when she’d be gone from Jaguar lands tomorrow. Not when it would mean discord between his father and him.

  She sat, crossing her arms over her bare breasts and rubbing her upper arms. Goose bumps chased away the lingering heat of dreams and remembered touch. But the cool, early-morning air only partially accounted for the chill invading her.

  In the cool light of dawn she faced a hard truth. Aryck regretted what happened after they left Wolf lands.

  Falling asleep Jaguar and waking up in human form, lying on top of a willing female, could be explained as a momentary lapse, a healthy male responding to physical stimuli without it being a conscious choice. But willfully engaging in such activity with a human, to smell like sex and have his father—his alpha—catch them kissing and see the shallow scars she’d raked across Aryck’s back, was different.

  From the time she was a child old enough to understand what her mother and the others did to survive, she’d noticed how many of the visitors crept in and slunk away, not wanting anyone to know they’d been with a prostitute.

  “It’s for the best,” Rebekka whispered, hoping that speaking the lie would make her believe it.

  She rose from the bed made of fur and blankets and dressed quickly, as anxious to escape her thoughts as the unwelcome solitude of the cabin.

  Phaedra was at the fire pit behind her own cabin. She smiled as Rebekka stepped from the path and into the small clearing.

  “You’re up early. I thought you might sleep in this morning after reading so late into the night. I’ll start breakfast in a few minutes.”

  Spread out along the length of a log was a collection of leaves, berries, roots, and bark. Rebekka studied the combination then said, “You’re making a painkiller from the journal?”

  “Yes, though as a healer I can’t hope the opportunity will arise to test this particular potion.”

  Rebekka laughed, understanding exactly what Phaedra meant as she’d experienced it herself more than once in the course of learning new things as a healer. She took the journal from her pocket and flipped to the page with the recipe, watched as Phaedra accurately dealt with the various ingredients.

  Despite coming to understand how the oral sharing of knowledge began almost at birth among pure Weres, Rebekka was still amazed by how quickly Phaedra was able to memorize information.

  “You got it exactly right,” she said.

  “You doubted?” Phaedra made a clucking sound and muttered, “Youngsters.”

  Rebekka felt her heart swell with affection, with a sense of belonging. She closed the journal and slipped it back in her pocket so she could help Phaedra with the last step, pouring the painkiller into clay pots then sealing it in with hot wax.

  Afterward it seemed perfectly natural to work together in preparing breakfast. Rebekka took charge of the fried potatoes and sausage, Phaedra the eggs.

  The scent of cooking food soon filled the clearing. As Rebekka nudged a sausage link and turned the potatoes, she thought of the Tiger cub.

  “Caius said someone cooks him dinner each evening. What about breakfast? Will he come by for it?”

  Phaedra tsked. “A cub whose belly is always full won’t be motivated to become a better hunter. Breakfast is for those of us whose duties keep us close to camp and not lingering for days in the forest as we feast on a fat deer while wearing our fur.”

  Rebekka startled. Shock coursed through her until she realized that of course it would be different for Phaedra. She was Were, a healer by calling and desire, rather than possessing a gift in the way humans did. It made sense Phaedra could hunt and kill withou
t turning her talent into a thing of evil.

  With thoughts of evil, the image of her demon father rose in Rebekka’s mind. She was saved from contemplations of him, from the confusion that came in painting him with the brush of sin when his actions seemed to speak otherwise, by Phaedra flipping an egg neatly onto a plate and handing it to her.

  “I imagine Caius will track you here when he doesn’t find you at your cabin,” Phaedra said. “You restored more than his health. Between the attention he’s gotten from you and from the Tiger, he’s been a different child, happy and extroverted instead of withdrawn and timid.”

  Rebekka served the potatoes and sausages before sitting on the fireside log. “Do you know what happened when he took Canino home with him?”

  Phaedra chuckled. “Yes. It went better than I thought it might.

  “Caius came here first thing this morning. His mother changed into Jaguar form and chased Canino away from their cabin last night. It’s the first intense reaction Deidre has shown since returning to the pack.

  “She’s slipped back into her despair since then. Caius was worried, but I assured him that what happened was a step toward healing and Canino would surely recognize it for what it was and not avoid him because of it.

  “The cub went off to check his snares. I’m sure he also intends to visit Canino to reassure himself that he’s still accepted by the Tiger.”

  “He will be,” Rebekka said, scooping up a forkful of eggs. “I think Canino needs Caius as much as Caius needs him.”

  “I suspect you’re right.”

  They finished their breakfast and were washing dishes when Caius rushed into the small clearing, yelling, “Rebekka! I was riding Canino and he took off running with me on his back! He crashed into a Lion to say hello and I went flying through the air and landed right at Koren’s feet! The Lions want you to come for a visit. That’s why they’re here. The alpha told me to look for you and bring you to where they’re waiting.”

  Caius’s voice lowered to a whisper. “There was an outcast with the Lions. He smelled almost completely human.”

  Rebekka’s heart leapt at the prospect of seeing Levi again even as dread became a leaden weight in her gut. “Is someone sick?”

  “Nobody said so. They don’t smell like they’ve been around someone who’s sick. They don’t smell worried about anything and they don’t seem anxious to get back home. Maybe they just want you to read the book to their healer too.”

  Caius wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Rebekka dried her hands on a cloth then returned the hug, leaning down to rub her cheek against his soft white-blond hair.

  He squeezed once more then wriggled out of her arms. “We better go. The alpha is waiting.”

  She said good-bye to Phaedra and followed Caius into the woods. Several yards down the path her thoughts went to Aryck.

  Memories crowded in, of how often he’d glowered at Levi as they traveled, especially when she and Levi were sitting or walking together and talking quietly. At how adamant he’d been that Levi wouldn’t enter Jaguar territory.

  Looking back at it, she could almost attribute Aryck’s behavior to jealousy. Or maybe she just wanted to believe there’d been something more than sexual curiosity or desire brought on by close proximity and shared horror.

  Aryck hadn’t sought her out but she wanted to tell him where she was going, and with who, rather than have him find out later. Though maybe he already knew Levi was here. Maybe he was glad because it saved him from uncomfortable explanations or obvious avoidance.

  “Was Aryck with the alpha?” she asked, pleased at how normal her voice sounded.

  “No. He might be at his cabin. Do you want to go there first? The alpha didn’t say I had to bring you to him straightaway.”

  Nearly painful flutters went through Rebekka’s chest. It was an excuse to see him. She recognized it for what it was, and yet despite everything she knew about men and about pure Weres, a tiny spark of hope still lingered inside her.

  “Yes, I’d like to tell him I’m leaving.”

  A flock of quail took flight in a roar of wings and shaken leaves. Caius cocked his head in a very catlike gesture but didn’t leave the path to explore what had startled the birds.

  It was impossible for Rebekka to gauge the size of the Jaguar camp or how many cabins were hidden away in the woods. It was equally impossible to tell how far or close Aryck’s home was from Phaedra’s since they didn’t travel in a straight line.

  Aryck’s cabin looked like all the others she’d seen. It was small, set in a dense pocket of trees and surrounded by a clearing to allow for cooking in a fire pit and for seeing anyone who might approach it.

  Standing at the very edge of the forest Rebekka felt her confidence waiver and her nerve desert her. She rubbed damp palms against her pants.

  It’s foolish to seek him out, she thought, and might have turned away except for Caius saying, “You want me to go with you to the door? Or stay here and wait for you?”

  She gathered her courage and straightened her spine. I broke into the maze and lived to tell about it. I met the demon Abijah and survived it. I can do this.

  “I’ll be right back,” she told Caius, afraid of what he might witness if he stood next to her at Aryck’s door.

  Rebekka forced herself to breathe deeply as she crossed the clearing, but it didn’t slow the wild race of her heart. She knocked, though she imagined scent and sound had already carried news of her arrival.

  Melina opened the door. Naked and looking sated with her hair unbound and her eyes slumberous.

  Pain slid into Rebekka like a knife, tearing through her in a single slash that left agony in its wake and no way to hide it.

  “If you’re looking for Aryck, he’s bathing in the stream,” Melina said. “If you hurry you might catch him.”

  The Jaguar female stretched, emphasizing bruised, well-attended nipples. “I hope you do find him. Making me jealous got him what he wanted and he knows what coming back with your scent on him will do to me.”

  Rebekka turned away, sickened, her throat tight and eyes burning as she fought not to give in to tears.

  “What’s wrong?” Caius asked, his gaze darting back and forth between the cabin and her.

  “Nothing,” she managed, taking his hand in a desperate need for the comfort of touch. “Let’s go to where the alpha and the Lions are waiting.”

  Rebekka held the tears back until she reached Levi. But as soon as he pulled her into a fierce hug, her control broke.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and wet the front of his shirt, managing to suppress choking sobs but not the trembling that came with the pain of betrayal and the death of a dream she’d only just allowed herself to believe possible.

  He didn’t ask what was wrong, though she felt his anger in the tension bristling along the length of his body. Heard it in the low growl of his voice when he asked, “You’ll come with us?”

  “Yes.” Rebekka stepped back, keeping her face turned away from the Jaguar alpha. “Is someone ill or injured?”

  “No. The grand matriarch wants to speak with you.”

  Caius recaptured Rebekka’s hand in a fierce squeeze. “Can I go with you, so I can keep learning my letters? And you can start teaching me to read?”

  Canino rumbled his approval of the question and signaled his willingness to visit the Lion pride by sitting next to Caius and leaning into him with such force the cub curled his arm around the Tiger’s neck.

  “The boy is welcome in our territory,” one of the Lions said. “We’ll see to his safety.”

  “He may go then,” Koren said, accompanying them to the border of Jaguar lands and officially handing off responsibility for both Caius and Rebekka to the Lion who seemed to be in charge.

  Levi’s hand tightened on Rebekka’s arm as soon as they were out of Jaguar hearing. “What happened?” he asked.

  Cyrin echoed his brother’s concern by pushing between them and snarling with such fury Rebekk
a touched the thick ruff of his mane and sent soothing waves of calm.

  “Nothing happened,” Rebekka lied, glad she’d bathed the night before so they wouldn’t scent Aryck and the smell of passion on her skin.

  Her emotions were too raw, the pain too new and too deep to talk about. She wasn’t sure she would ever be able to confide the truth to Levi. How could she, when he didn’t settle on one female either?

  “Melina said something to her,” Caius volunteered. “Rebekka was fine until that happened.”

  “I’m still fine,” she said, making an attempt to sound as she usually did. “How could I be anything but fine when I’m seeing and learning things humans are rarely allowed to?”

  Levi’s narrowed eyes and taut features said she wasn’t successful in fooling him. But he let the subject drop, and Caius filled the silence.

  He told the others about her reading the journal to Phaedra. Recited the alphabet and shared what he knew about each letter. And after they’d stopped long enough for Rebekka to introduce a few new letters and draw them in the dirt, he went on to tell them about what he and Canino had already done together, and the things he wanted them to do.

  His enthusiasm lifted Rebekka’s spirits even as it made her think about those in Oakland who needed her. She glanced at Levi, remembering the early days, when she’d taught him how to read. And how he, in turn, had offered to teach Feliss.

  Worry for those in the brothels edged into Rebekka’s thoughts. It was time to go back, perhaps pay a visit to the Wainwright witches.

  The weight of the journal in her pocket reminded her of her promise. There was very little of it left to share with Phaedra.

  Her time on Jaguar lands was nearly done anyway, and Phaedra had said territorial lines weren’t as sharply defined for healers. She’d said she would pass on the information contained in the journal to others.

  Rebekka slid her hand into her pocket and touched smooth leather. If she read what remained to the Lion healer, then she and Levi could leave from there. She could return to Oakland without having to see Aryck again.